One and a half sleeves…

Lest you think nothing has been done in my absence, Rogue is finally on the blocking board, although not yet completed.

I present to you the body and one sleeve:

Please pardon the bowl head.

Your really can’t see the detail on this photo, but better
pictures will be forthcoming. 

The first sleeve was an entertaining exercise in
knitting. At first I just sailed right
through it, at least until I got to the sleeve cap shaping. Luckily I was aware enough that day to look
at the knitting on my lap and think that it looked too short. I did not have the body of the sweater with
me and I did not remember how deep the armholes were, or how broad the
shoulders, so it was somewhat difficult to guess. Still, the sleeve looked short. This, in itself, is an unusual
occurrence. Although I am moderately
tall at 5’9”, my arms and legs are not proportionate to my height. Legs are longer than average, an advantage
truly, but short compared to the rest of me, and my arms, well they are pretty
much average to short. Still that
doesn’t necessarily mean anything. I
often have to shorten sleeves on expensive RTW and lengthen them on the cheaper
stuff. In sewing patterns the sleeves
are usually long enough or too long. Knitting patterns are all over the map, some too short, some too long, rarely
just right; generally though I have to shorten more than I have to lengthen.

While I was waiting to compare the sleeve to the body of
Rogue (I was not at home) I grew bored with sitting and staring at a pile of
knitting on my lap on which no progress could be made, an actual improvement
for me as there have been times when I would have thrown caution to the wind
and knit on, hoping for the best outcome. Luckily I did have my Chibi needles so I thought I would turn up the
sleeve hem. A good thing that. I had not been certain that I liked it as I
knit and as I seamed my indecision was quickly resolved.

Rip that sleeve and start over.

This time I knitted a stockinette hem much as I did for the
hem of Rogue, knitting slightly less than 2 inches and then picking up the cast
on stitches and knitting them together to begin the first row of the body of
the sleeve. Much nicer. No floppy hems or cuffs for me. Give me firm and close fitting sleeve ends
whenever possible. 

By the time I got back to the shaping the sleeve cap I had
determined that I needed another two inches despite the decidedly low armscye
on the body of Rogue. Then I needed
another inch at the top of the sleeve cap to fill in the shoulder area. Yes my row gauge was the same as on the body
of the sweater. At least it seems very
similar, perhaps not similar enough. Row
gauge has always been my downfall.

When I finished the sleeve I basted the sleeve to the body
to try on for fit before blocking and beginning the second sleeve. Success!!

The second sleeve has been started and will be finished
soon. Not soon enough however for there
to be a high likelihood that this sweater will venture beyond my closet for the
next six months.